The crackle and burns, the sparks and the moonlight, all became silent as the last burst of magic dissipated, the energy barely lingering in this world that was clearly hanging for dear life. It had been quite the battle, but it was over in a blink of an eye as most battles do, and with it, silence and serenity had once again been returned to the underground forest… or was it even underground? The world of Lordran did not make any sense whatsoever and they could have been teleported hundreds of miles in any direction just by taking one step on the right way.
Atop the trees, the only light that illuminated this part of the world, constantly under the veil of shadows, came from what seemed to be a full moon, with its rays filtered through the deep gathering of trees and vines, making this place feel almost aethereal, as if it didn’t quite belong on the real world. Or maybe that was just the magical energies quickly absorbed by the place.
Still, the world was at peace for now, and the only sounds were distant birds and the sparkling energy coming from something Sunset Shimmer had never seen before in her life, and that was saying something for the traveler of three different worlds. The Architect held on his hand something so remarkable that was left gawking in deference.
“This… is the full energy of a soul… so that butterfly even had something like this on him… Sunset?” The aforementioned girl looked at her partner of the moment, but she wasn’t able to immediately answer back due to her own actions.
Inside the green pale vase, a shining force could be seen sloshing inside, brightening slightly the place around as she took a sip of the reinvigorating liquid, already feeling her burns and her bruises healing after one more battle in this forgotten place.
“I’ve studied a little about these souls. Well, more like it was explained to me by a vicar, but I never thought something this powerful could be found inside a creature like that butterfly,” Architect passed along the golden spark to Sunset as this one began to analyse the powerful glowing light. “This could either be the source of its power, or a secondary reaction to it becoming so strong… what’s wrong with you?” It was clear that something was going on considering that Architect had his arms at his sides, as if he wasn’t able to move them.
“Ah, nothing much… I just broke my hands.” To hear the man say something like that with such aplomb, as if it was only a minor inconvenience, well, it took Sunset a couple of blinks to completely comprehend what he was saying.
“Excuse me, what?”
“The ring and index finger on my right hand and… yeah, the middle, index and little finger on my left hand are completely broken, and I assume at least a couple more are cracked at least.” The grimace on his face as he tried to move his hand to check the damage even made Sunset flinch.
“Here, I still have estus with me.”
“Nah, you can keep it, that thing does nothing for me, apparently it only has an effect with undead. Well, those with the curse better said. Already tried a little while ago and while it feels pleasant, it holds no healing abilities.” Well, that was bad. Sunset would have tried to heal him with magic, but she was sure that was for now beyond her abilities. Maybe with time she will be able to find the way to crack open Lordran’s magical source and rules.
So far she could only feel the embers of a light deep inside her own soul, as if little by little she was breathing life back on it. Would it be that it was her own magic core, or it was simply a mirror of her current predicament as an undead? Sunset wasn’t sure, but if given the chance she will put her whole focus on it, that is if the world stopped trying to kill her every five steps.
“Do you need any help? Is there any way I can assist you?” Right now, Sunset was thankful for her armour, but she had also been really spoiled by the amount of bags and hiding spots her previous attire offered her, so she didn’t have much in terms of ointments, poultices or even bandages.
“Sure, can you… reach into my jacket and take something that can help? Yeah, the right one… no, that’s an amber herb. It’s good with magic apparently… nope, that's a green blossom. You can keep one, it will help you recover energy. Nice when you know you need to be quick… yeah, that’s the thing, it is a really cool rock, right?” In her hands, after rummaging on the seemingly normal inner pocket, was a slightly shining smooth rock, it felt warm, almost if it had a pulse.
“What is this? I’ve never seen anyone around here making use of something similar.” The stone was bizarre, since it looked like a piece of yellowed marble, but deep inside she could feel the power.
“A radiant lifegem. Apparently it is made of crystallized souls. How can a soul crystalize? I have absolutely no idea, but it’s a great source of healing energy. It was probably discovered after the fall of Lordran, who knows? Enough time had passed for it to happen.” Then, just as Sunset put just enough pressure on the rock, it disappeared in a shower of sparks, settling around the man, as he seemed to relax with the energy that had been infused into his body. “Much better. Takes a little bit longer to act in comparison with an estus flask, but it works for absolutely everyone, be it human, undead or even giants.”
“Giants? There are giants in your time?”
“Even worse than that, there are giants and many more monsters here! Lordran is the source of many strange creatures, be it giants and even demons.”
“Don’t mention demons. I think I fought one back where I started.” The distaste Sunset had for creatures like that was visible. After all, the first time she had died had been at the hands of the strange bloated demon back at the asylum, which was ironic, and Sunset would be the first to agree, considering what was the reason for her being sent into Lordran.
“Well, hopefully everything goes well this time, or at least in your time now that I helped you defeat those things. Take care Sunset.” The man then waved, but after a few seconds, nothing happened. “Uh, okay... Am I the only one that finds the fact that I’m still here weird?”
“Were you expecting the bizarre mist that makes people appear and disappear at random?”
“As a matter of fact, well, yeah… What do you know? Guess I’m staying around for a while. That has never happened before… So… What do we do now?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t even know what to expect in this place. I just… you may not believe me, but I swear I felt as if something was calling me, like a pulse, an energy that basically dragged me here.”
“Meh, sounds a lot more believable than just being declared the hero out of nowhere due to a prophecy, but seriously? Considering all the magical artifacts and weapons that can be found everywhere in this place, yeah, that you are attuned to their magical energies is not even weird.” Stretching his hands, Architect took notice of the damage inflicted on his own gloves. It would be better if he made some quick changes to them if he ever found himself in another fight against armored opponents.
“Well, thank you for believing me, but seeing the magical butterfly and the crystal golem in this place, I guess there must be something important around here.” Looking around she was sure there must be something important that they were guarding and seeing the remains of what seemed to be a keep, well, it seemed like a good indication that something had happened in this place.
“Okay, my hands are healed, we got a huge soul, guess we should check what they were guarding in that tower.” The forest had been pacified for now, but the two at this point were veterans in terms of having to survive crazy stuff all the time so they were careful of their surroundings.
Looking around now that they had the time they noticed certain things, among them, the huge armored figures that were scattered in some places among the trees, with shields and swords as big as a normal person.
“Are those golems too?”
“Let’s hope not, but whatever they were, it seems they did their jobs.They are not the only casualties.” Architect pointed at several corpses that had been scattered too across the forest ground, bodies that Sunset recognized from not too long ago.
“Before the butterfly, me and my friends were fighting against creatures like these. Some must have survived this battle and then attacked us.”
“Well, whatever the case may be, they are all dead, Or whatever passes as dead in this freaking world. It’s just… don’t you think they look a little out of place here?” Sunset just raised an eyebrow wondering what her partner for now was referring to. “Look around you, even the armored things look like something that could defend the forest. They basically look like something a druid will summon, but these things look, I don’t know, really nightmarish.”
“I see that, but I don’t think there are people around that could give us an explanation. This whole place looks ancient. Who could even know about something like this?” It was at this moment that the sound of crystal cracking got both of their attention.
“Well, you just had to say something like that, right?” He only got a grumble as an answer as they both saw the golden crystal that had survived from the fight get more and more cracks, until it shattered into sparks, letting free what was inside trapped.
She was regal, that was something the both of them could say at first sight, with a beautiful dress and gloved hands, and on top of her golden hair a delicate looking crown was sitting. She was an aethereal and miraculous sight in this world, and with a blink, the woman took notice of the place she was at.
“Are thou, the ones that saved me?” Even her voice was fragile and delicate, almost like silk, that it made both warriors blink in surprise at what they just found.
“Okay, I did not see this coming.” The most unbelievable trio of the land stood watching each other not knowing how to break the silence after such an entrance, but finally Sunset walked over to her discarded equipment, taking her helmet and placing it back over her head.
“I am Sunset of Equestria, and if you mean if we destroyed the golem. We did. It’s just that…”
“We didn’t know it was a prison, I’m the Architect, just Architect. So I suppose this is one more weird thing in this land, not that there are enough mysteries. Gods forbid anything be a little bit easier to understand!”
“Indeed, the gods truly work in mysterious ways. I am Dusk of Oolacile. For a very long time, I was trapped within the Crystal Golem. From my home I was taken, and banished to a plane of distortion. It was there that thou came to my rescue.” To say that both warriors were surprised would be an understatement.
“This place never stops surprising me. What is that Oolacile place?”
“Hey, don’t look at me Sunset. At the point of time I’m from even Lordran is just a myth. This Oolacile place must be ancient because I have never heard of it.” He had to shrug his shoulders at all these mysteries, but he was right. By the time Drangleic existed, the original land of the gods was just a legend, something to read about in books.
“Oolacile was my kingdom. I fear it must be lost now, but no matter. I know I’ll find my way back to my home soon enough, but for now, would thou allow me to aid you in any way?” Looking at the garments Dusk was wearing and considering how dangerous the lands were, Sunset may have said no, but she had also started with nothing. Besides, she was not one to say no to help from somebody right now.
“I… suppose?”
“SUNSET!” The sound came, not from her side, but instead from somewhere higher, so looking up she saw the source of the voice. It was none other than Architect looking down at them from the top of the ruins of what was probably Oolacile. “I think both of you need to look at what I found!”
“How did he get up there?” There had been a time when Sunset had a normal life, where every day was as normal and boring beyond her dreams of returning to Equestria and.. doing something, even though she wasn’t sure what exactly she was going to do, even less after her turning into a demon herself. Really, teenage zombies? It was enough to feel embarrassed, if it weren’t because she had also been banished and thrown into another reality. Now, every single thing, every single person, every single place was as weird as the last.
Either way, both the warrior and the princess began to ascend what remained of the tower, with Sunset taking a second to look at one of the fallen armored giants that probably defended the ruins. Its back against the wall and monsters at its feet, vanquished nightmares as it followed its command to protect, the stone-like shield propped at its side, the giant sword left abandoned, just another untold story of Lordran, among hundreds more.
“I remember them, my subjects. They lost their bodies and minds. Oh, how I wish I were able to save them.” At her side, Dusk’s face showed her pain at the monsters with the inflated head. “I wonder how they reached this place, maybe they survived like me? No matter, now they are in a better place.” With all the grace of her status, she rose and accompanied Sunset to the top of the tower. At least one question had been answered, just one remained; how did they reach this place?
No matter. They had defeated them, so now, she ascended the tower alongside the princess, marvelling at how so much of it had been destroyed either by monsters or time and still remained solid enough for them to walk, and on the top Sunset saw a figure, so old that had become something closer to stone.
Around the place, she could see dozens of tools, equipment and everything needed for her to recognize this was the workplace of a blacksmith, and among all of that, she felt the call, the feeling that had been dragging her all the way down here.
It was an ornamental box, incredibly beautiful, made of what seemed to be gold and inside of it, oh, something so amazing that she could barely believe it. It was a light, so pure and pristine that it made Sunset’s heart work harder. It was powerful, so incredibly powerful that she felt drawn to it, like a moth to a flame. That’s how she felt, but before she could reach it, Architect grabbed her wrist, making her blink and fight back the spell that caught her.
“What… what just happened?”
“Not sure exactly, but this flame, well, it’s a pure flame, something that is almost divine in its existence. This place was a forge for a very important blacksmith, so I suppose this would be as good a place as any,” he said before taking several of the hammers and after finding them to be of excellent quality and still capable of work he turned around to Sunset and Dusk. “Sunset Shimmer, remember when I told you about the sales pitch? Well, I am the Architect, I can build you anything. Allow me to show you my art.” With the hammer in one hand and the butterfly soul on the other, Sunset was sure that the results would be astonishing.